Uncaged Conservation: the realities of the illegal bird trade
By Sicily Fiennes, a PhD researcher in the University of Leeds School of Biology
Walking into a bird market for the first time in Indonesia was an assault on the senses — the smell of ammonia from bird droppings, the heat from the dense rows of shops, the raucous noise of the birds, their singing, and the sounds of commerce, of human chatter and laughter. The cages holding the birds often jostled for space and it was difficult to distinguish the many different species on sale.
It was 2023, and I was to spend the next five months visiting wildlife marketplaces in Indonesia as part of my PhD at the University of Leeds, in the Leverhulme Extinction Studies Doctoral Training Program, carrying out research into the complex social, technological and ecological issues surrounding the songbird trade.
My research project, Uncaged Conservation aims to brings to life the experience of an Indonesian bird market in an effort to challenge misconceptions about the wildlife trade and the people involved.
A brief introduction to bird trade
In Southeast Asia, the demand for songbirds for singing competitions, breeding, prayer release and as pets has led to uncontrolled trapping and trading of birds. This increased demand for wild-caught birds has resulted in the Asian Songbird Crisis, a declaration made in 2017 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature — the body that assesses species extinction.
Part of this demand stems from deep-rooted traditions of keeping birds at home — a practice particularly common on the island of Java. These traditions, particularly for owning songbirds, have been derived from royal nobility. There are various dimensions to this trade, notably along racial and class lines; while bird collectors are more likely to be wealthy, the people hunting them are more likely to be poor and under economic pressure. They are also more likely to be prosecuted under law if they are caught, often with punitive measures such as prison sentences.
Understanding the complexity of the marketplace
The songbird trade in Southeast Asia is known as a ‘wicked problem,’ meaning it is complex, unclear, and involves many interconnected, often conflicting factors. Solutions to such problems are hard to define, as different groups may have competing interests and values.
Enforcing the law in this kind of complex situation is a challenging job. Alongside my visits to marketplaces, I ran workshops on bird trade, crime and extinction with members of conservation law enforcement, including local police and government agencies.
We wanted to explore their everyday experiences, how they enforce the laws, and how they identify different bird species in often challenging environments. By bringing officers together for group discussions, we aimed to learn about the challenges they face and how they work together to form a shared understanding of the illegal trade and how to address it.
It became clear that complex factors were making it a difficult issue to deal with, ranging from the overwhelming task of identifying the many different birds, to the fact that the social aspect of the marketplaces often play an important part in the local community. Traders who are prosecuted and imprisoned aren’t offered any rehabilitation and have few alternative options for income.
Many people feel that ending the trade is not a realistic solution, but want to find ways to make it more sustainable, with improved animal welfare.
I started looking at technology as an option to address this challenging social and environmental issue. As we move into the age of artificial intelligence, for instance, could we use AI to identify endangered birds and stop people from trading them? However, the role of technology needs to be carefully considered. For example, how could it be made accessible to the people that need it? How could it be co-designed? And could it increase surveillance and punishment of traders, without any evidence these are effective deterrents? Technology alone is not a solution.
We need more nuanced and realistic representations of wildlife marketplaces and more dialogue around the songbird trade’s realities for humans and animals — both positive and negative. Marketplaces are more than just transactional sites; they are cultural environments used as social spaces by bird keepers and traders alike.
Developing a website to start conversations
The idea for the Uncaged Conservation website came about as a way to share insights from a bird market visit while addressing concerns about sensitivity and anonymity.
The work was funded by Pardicolor Creative Arts Fund and Creature Conserve. The illustrations were made by Ishaan Patil and the website created by Louis Lugas. Franco Zacha from Creature Conserve provided art direction and guidance.
Ishaan took inspiration from the real physical architecture of markets, to create a sketch that mirrors the conditions, atmosphere and claustrophobia of a typical Indonesian songbird marketplace without revealing specific locations.
Through a collaborative work of art and science, we hope to challenge misconceptions about the wildlife trade and the people involved and prompt further discussions. Why do people cage birds, and is putting people in prisons an effective response to imprisoning birds?
Why is thinking about the use of prisons important?
While we shouldn’t minimise the harm that birds face in cages and through the trading process, we should recognise that the wildlife trade is not an isolated process and is situated within larger oppressive systems of class, race and gender.
Bird keepers are often portrayed as malevolent or uncaring regarding issues such as environmental destruction. This perception can be heavily influenced by the relationships between humans and the environment across different countries, fuelled by discrimination against certain minority groups. For many bird keepers, the reality of their relationship with their trade is much more complex.
In addition, Indonesia still holds conservative views on conservation, which are derived from colonial laws and rely on control, confinement, and punishment to protect the environment, often using militarised enforcement and land privatisation — known as ‘carceral’ conservation.
This approach mirrors the oppressive systems and underlying inequalities within the criminal justice system, which frequently harm marginalised communities and impact on economically disadvantaged people.
Critics argue that this reinforces social inequalities and violence, and call for more inclusive and just conservation methods, such as collaborative decision-making with local and indigenous people, punishment for wildlife crimes that doesn’t just penalise the poorest, and measures to help protect wild songbirds such as financial incentives that provide alternatives to trapping.
By returning wildlife crime to a local and shared context, perhaps we can stop treating both people and animals as subjects to be controlled and, instead, help them to thrive.
Explore more about the wildlife marketplaces on the Uncaged Conservation website.
